


Is Handmade Really Best?

by blumvale (sailorpipn)



Category: Star Trek
Genre: Crocheting, Established Relationship, Fluff, Friendship, Holidays, M/M, trope: jim's allergies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-18
Updated: 2014-12-18
Packaged: 2018-03-02 02:05:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2795729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailorpipn/pseuds/blumvale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim creates a gift for Spock and he is unsure if it’s good enough for the holidays.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Is Handmade Really Best?

**Author's Note:**

> **Beta:** my mom, yes she does sometimes read fic for me – thanks mom. Anymore errors are mine
> 
> I don't remember where I originally saw this prompt, but I'm glad I did :)

“Damn it Jim! I’m a doctor not a… not a spindle. I have inventory to take, patients to check in on, better –“

“Better things to do, yadda yadda yadda; I’ve heard it all before, Bones. But as much as you bitch, we both know you’re gonna stay and hang out with me. Besides you know Chapel won’t be happy if you talk to her the way you talk to me and then you’ll just combust from lack of bitching. So, logic says you should just stay here with me.”

“Logic huh?” Leonard rolled his eyes when Jim nodded back at him. He huffed out a laugh before saying, “You know, I’m not letting you count this as my Christmas present; not if I have to help.”

“Bah! What help? You’re sitting there doing nothing. I’m the one doing all the hard work!”

“Yeah darlin’ you do make that look hard…” 

Jim was currently covered in a multitude of different colored yarn. Some aqua yarn had managed to get on Jim’s head, so Leo leaned forward to knock it off and tried to untangle it. Recently the Enterprise had visited a planet whose main export was knitted/crocheted items like shirts, scarves, blankets, etc. Everyone knew traveling in space could be a cold adventure and this planet was raking in the profits. There were these sheep like creatures that were four times the size of regular Earth sheep and surprisingly Jim wasn’t allergic to their wool. So, of course Jim had flirted, not that he wouldn’t have flirted anyway, and bought some yarn. (No one was shocked when the woman doubled his order for no extra charge.) What was really surprising about Simemo was the inhabitants seemed to take no offense to Jim being Jim. There wasn’t a single fight, no red shirts died, and the Simemoians had readily agreed to the terms the Federation set out.

Bones was sure they were going to end up going back to fuel Jim’s new creocheting addiction. Though, with all the knots Jim’d managed to secure, Leo would be shocked if Jim managed to finish one scarf. Looking at the blob across Jim’s lap, Leo wasn’t even sure if it was supposed to be a scarf… maybe a really short blanket?

“Do you think Spock will like it?” Jim asked later, holding the blob up. It was orange and yellow and had some purple thrown in for good measure. A large ugly seem was down one end where it looking like Jim had tried to tie the ends together. Was it a hat?

“Well that would mean that I thought the hobgoblin liked anything, so I can’t really answer that.” 

Jim stuck his tongue out in response. “Well he likes me and sometimes I think he even likes you,” Jim teased.

“Hey now, that’s just cruel. Whatever you think he feels for you is fine, but leave me out of it.” Bones sighed, tired of hearing about how wonderful Spock was. He was tired of hearing how intelligent Spock was, how many times he’d beaten Jim at chess, and what happened to him when Jim sucked on his ears. He was all Jim seemed to talk about recently. Even when they were supposed to be going over reports or signing paperwork, or anything that had absolutely nothing to do with his first officer, Jim would find some way to sneak his name in. And sneaking was a nice way to describe it. 

Like a child unable to keep a secret, Jim would blurt random facts out at inopportune moments. Bones would never forget when he’d been going over call sheets to organize which officers needed to be updated on their boosters when Jim had skipped, yes skipped, into his office and proudly announced that he’d kissed the Vulcan, “Both ways Bones – with my fingers and my lips!” 

Except when his bitch of an ex had served him with divorce papers, Leo wasn’t sure of another time when he’d needed a drink more. “That’s great kid,” he’d responded, digging for the flask he kept in his desk drawer. 

“And anyway,” Leo went back to the conversation at hand. “If it comes from you, I’m sure he’ll like it. Isn’t that how the whole boyfriends thing works?” Leo wanted a drink right then and there when Jim blushed.

“I dunno Bones. Is he my boyfriend? We haven’t really discussed it. We’re usually too busy doing –“

“Eh, I don’t want to hear it!” Leo hurried to butt in. “I’m too sober to hear how good he is in bed.” When Jim opened his mouth to continue, Bones shut him up with a glare. “I mean it kid! Look, give him his present under the mistletoe that Sulu’s been growing for the holiday party, and then make it official and all that fun stuff. Until then you might want to keep working on your skills because if you give that,” he gestured to the ‘hat’, “to anyone else, they might not appreciate it the same way.”

“Hey old man, I worked really hard on this!” But Leo knew Jim wasn’t really offended by the sparkle in his eye. “Besides, I bought stuff for everybody else.” Standing up, Jim quickly untangled himself from the mass of yarn and left it in the middle of the floor before going over to his dresser. Opening the bottom drawer he pulled out some blankets and laid them on his bed. “See, this one is for Uhura and this one if for Scotty. I only got one for Sulu and Chekov since then share a bed most nights anyway.” Jim paused to send a wink Bones’ way. “Also I got Christine a scarf and one for Rand – I have to thank her some way for all the work she does. And don’t worry your present isn’t in this stack.” Jim chuckled when Bones let out a sigh of relief. “Like I’d get you a blanket; no, I got you something I know you’ll appreciate. And no you’re not getting it till, what’d you say? We’re under the mistletoe? I guess I’ll be getting a lot of kisses if I can only give my presents away there.” 

“Yeah right, kid. You wish you could get me under the mistletoe. You better stick to the hobgoblin; he doesn’t like it when you flirt with other people. Hmm… for someone who’s not your boyfriend he sure acts like one. Maybe you just didn’t get the memo. But question, if you bought all these presents, why did you make Spock’s?”

Jim crossed his arms in front of his chest before replying, “Aren’t you the one telling me to find a hobby so I’m less stressed? Well you already monopolized drinking as yours, so I figured I’d try this. And then I thought maybe I could make presents for everyone, but this hat took forever and you’re right it looks like crap. And Spock is going to hate it. But, I don’t have anything else for him and there’s no way I’m gonna get better in the next three days to make a new one. And-“

“Now wait a second Jim,” Leo interrupted as he got off the floor and went over to his friend. Bones normally admired his friend for having a cool head; this was not one of those times. Sitting down on Jim’s bed, careful not to mess up the pile of presents, Leo pulled his friend down next to him. “I did not say the hat looked like crap. And I’m sorry if my question made you think that. Spock’s gonna love it, I’m sure of it. If making hats and whatnot out of yarn is going to keep your stress down then I’m all for it. In fact why don’t I show you a little trick I picked up when the ex made me learn when she was pregnant?” Before Jim could protest Leonard got up and grabbed the knitting needles and the aqua yarn he’d unknotted earlier. Quickly he knitted a few rows before turning back to his friend. “See if you do it like this, it’s easier to see if you loose a link and then you just go like this and you can pick it right back up. Now you try,” he instructed as he handed the needles back their rightful owner.

While trying to mimic Bones’ actions Jim asked, “Joss really made you learn to knit?”

“Hey now, this kept me warm all those winter nights when she was craving pickles and ice cream. She’d come into the living room ready to send me out into the cold, see me knitting, and promptly forget what she wanted.” Both men chuckled. “And I did a damn good job. You know that picture of Jojo carrying around a yellow blanket? I made that blanket.” 

Jim knocked his shoulder into the other man’s. “You know I hate you right?”

“Naw darlin’, you love me almost as much as you love your Vulcan boyfriend. Now you practice and if you want me to teach you another stitch, come by my office later. But now I’m going to do all the doctorly things I should have been doing all afternoon.” He ruffled Jim’s hair affectionately before heading to the door. 

“Damn you and your magic fingers,” he heard Jim mutter behind him.

The door slid open and Leo stepped through before turning back. “I’ll remember to keep my magic fingers away from you next time you get hurt,” he teased, wiggling his fingers in front of the door as he stepped away. 

 

“Holy crap, Nyota did an amazing job decorating!” Jim exclaimed as he entered the rec. room. 

“As she has not yet given you permission, I find that I must object to your use of her first name.”

“Awe, come on Spock, it’s the holidays. She can’t get mad at me now; it wouldn’t go with the theme of thing.” Slapping his first on the arm, Jim ignored the raised eyebrow that was Spock’s only retort. Quickly he scanned the room the find the rest of the Alpha bridge crew huddled by the bar. “Come on, let’s go test this theory.”

“I would not recommend it,” Spock murmured as Jim directed them to their friends. They easily maneuvered through the crowd that had stuffed the rec. room to capacity. It had been decided, months earlier, to hold a holiday party on a neutral day so that no one felt their beliefs were getting preference. While most people seemed to be wearing red and green for Christmas there were still plenty of other holidays/cultures being represented and many were just festive in nature. As they neared their friends Spock noticed that Chekov’s shirt sported a dreidel while Sulu’s shirt had something that looked like reindeer on it. Spock felt his lips quirk when he noticed the two were holding hands. Trying to go with the theme of things, he moved his hand against Jim’s, allowing their index and middle fingers to touch. Immediately Jim turned back to him, a radiant smile on his face.

“Hey everybody,” Jim greeted the group with a smile or in Nyota’s case a kiss to her cheek. Spock kept his feelings in check as he knew they were just friends. It had taken some time, even before he and Jim had developed their own relationship, to understand that the Captain and Communications Officer’s banter was a sign of friendship. 

Jim let go of Spock’s hand to wrap his arm around the young woman’s waist. “You know Nyota, everything looks fantastic.”

Nyota turned to glare at him frostily before replying, “I suppose,” she drew out the word, “for tonight you can use my first name.”

Jim practically jumped in the air with happiness. “See Spock, I told you she wouldn’t mind. Nyota Nyota Nyota Nyota Nyota Nyota Ny-“

“Ok you’re done,” she interrupted him before he could continue, covering his mouth with her hand. So, Jim stepped back to find cover standing next to Dr. McCoy.

“Awe come on Ny-“ her glare increased tenfold, “Uhura. I wanna use it enough to balance out the rest of year when it’s forbidden.” Jim was practically pouting as he leaned his head on Bones’ shoulder. But Uhura’s gaze didn’t soften. 

“Maybe next year that will be your present, but as this year I have already organized and decorated this party and left a little something on your desk, I think I have done enough.”

“You’re gonna make me wait a whole year?” Jim whined and Bones pushed him off with a muttered, “Jeeze kid…” “What about my birthday? Can I please say your name on my birthday?”

Uhura rolled her eyes but finally there was a smile on her face. “I’ll think about it.”

With a fist in the air like he just won a match, Jim let out a whoop and a laugh. Spock resisted the urge to mimic Nyota and roll his eyes. Sulu, Chekov, and Scotty found the conversation amusing and laughed outright.

The rest of the evening passed by quickly in a flurry of twinkle lights and sugar cookies. Some ensign had tried to get everyone to sing, but it seemed no one was interested in holiday songs. Instead decks of cards had been passed out and card games were set up around the room. People mingled and drank and it was easy to see everyone was enjoying himself or herself. Happily Spock noticed that Jim had only imbibed a couple of drinks, so he wouldn’t have to carry his captain back to his quarters later. 

After winning the poker pot (three sugar cookies, two snickerdoodles, and an oatmeal raisin) Jim got up from the table and made his way over to Spock. The Vulcan was chatting amicably with one of the ensigns from the science department. “Sorry Roscoff, I’m just gonna steal him away,” Jim said as he stepped close to Spock and put his hand at the small of Spock’s back.

“No problem Captain.” Roscoff smiled brightly at Jim, noticing how close the two men stood together. While neither Jim nor Spock had attempted to hide their relationship, it was only people they spent most of their time with who were used to seeing them together. The rest of the crew always seemed to feel like they were let into a terrible secret when they saw their Captain and First Officer acting like anything other than the men in charge. Without another word Ensign Roscoff walked away and Jim led Spock over to the doorway.

“Are we leaving?” Spock questioned since the party was sure to go on for at least another hour or more.

“Nope, not quite yet. But I wanted to give you your present.” Jim handed Spock a small wrapped box. Raising an eyebrow, Spock silently questioned where Jim had been keeping it all evening. But before he could ask Jim grinned and said, “I had it hidden at the bar. And since I put ‘To Spock’ on it, I knew no one would touch it.” Jim chuckled softly at his joke before getting an anxious look on his face. “Well open it,” he urged. 

Nodding once, Spock neatly unwrapped the holiday paper that did indeed have his name written across it. He tucked the paper under his arm and opened the box.

“It’s a hat,” Jim said before Spock could do anything more than gaze inside. “I made it myself, so I hope you like it.” Jim reached into the box and pulled out the hat and while he wanted to, Spock did not protest when Jim pulled it onto his head. “There we go,” Jim continued, straightening the hat so it was just right. “It looks great,” Jim proclaimed with a grin.

From over by the poker table Spock heard someone snicker. He turned to see that Dr. McCoy and Mr. Scott had gotten up from their game to see the present that had been given to him. Who had laughed, Spock wasn’t sure. A flash from another direction caught his attention and he saw that Nyota had taken his picture with her padd.

“That’s so going to be the ship’s holiday card photo next year,” Nyota declared as she handed her padd to Spock so he could see how it looked. He felt his eyebrows go up on their own accord as he gazed at his picture. A hat?

“Well, do you like it?” Spock turned back to Jim and he could clearly see hope and worry written across his face. 

“I’m sure it will adequately protect my head in cold weather. Thank you Jim.” Happiness flashed across Jim’s face brighter than any bulb and then, not caring who they were in front of, Jim grabbed his shirt and pulled him forward into a kiss. While Spock did not generally approve of public displays of affection, he made an exception this time because of the glow that Jim now possessed. He enjoyed knowing that he made his captain so happy. 

They broke apart far too soon in Jim’s opinion, but catcalls were starting up and he didn’t want to embarrass Spock any further. As it was, Jim could see the Vulcan’s ears and cheeks were flushed green. “I’m so glad you like it.” Jim’s grin was infectious and Spock felt the corners of his lips twitch into a small smile. This made Jim’s grin even bigger if that were possible. “Ok, one more for the road since were under the mistletoe anyway.” Jim leaned up to plant one chaste kiss on Spock’s lips. They were under mistletoe? Spock hadn’t realized as he only saw Jim. 

Stepping away from the doorway and crowds of friends and coworkers who were staring at them intently, Spock took Jim’s arm and led him into the hall. When he was sure that no one would be able to hear them Spock turned to his captain and rubbed their fingers together. “I- I love you, t’hy’la.”

“Love? What?” Jim looked shocked; the glow that his face had held was fading quickly. “You love me?”

“Vulcans do not lie.”

“Well yeah, I know that, but still… wow.” A shy smile spread across Jim’s face. “I didn’t think you’d be the first to say it. I- I love you too, Spock.”

“That pleases me greatly.”

“Well, you know me,” the shy smile turned into something like a leer, “I do aim to please. Why don’t we go back to my quarters and I can prove it to you?”

“I find myself quite agreeable to that plan.” Spock gestured to the empty hallway. “If you’d lead the way, Captain.”

Jim winked at Spock as he headed for the lift. “I do like it when you call me captain.”


End file.
